For those of you who don't know me, I'm Ellie, your average 20 year old currently studying at university, working hard and playing hard, living life to the full (with a bit of chilling out in between!)
In December 2013, I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis after about a year of stomach cramps, bleeding with bowel movements and fatigue. Although I'd had the symptoms for a long time, I was so afraid of what was happening to my body that I simply kept it to myself and didn't say anything to my family or my doctor.
I went through my A-Levels, summer and the first term of university trying to put all these things to the back of my mind. But by Christmas, I'd lost nearly two stone, was feeling super-weak and going to the toilet in excess of 20 times per day. When I finally saw a GP, he immediately sent me to hospital, where I was admitted and diagnosed with Inflammatory Bowel Disease.
After two weeks of failed Prednisolone and Ciclosporine IV therapy and a good old hospital Christmas Dinner, my bowel had still not responded to treatment, and I suffered a huge bleed on New Year's Day. By January 2nd, I was having emergency surgery to remove the majority of my large bowel (a subtotal colectomy) and a stoma (an end ileostomy) created.
At first, what was happening to me seemed like the worst thing ever. I struggled to come to terms with my diagnosis and surgery, the fact I had to drop out of university for the year, and felt like my world had fallen apart! However, as the year went on, I found there were more and more things I could do with a stoma that simply hadn't been possible when I'd become so ill with UC.
And throughout 2014, I really did live life to the full. I went on holiday (twice!), went to my first music festival, went swimming, ate what I wanted, restarted university, worked a full-time and a part-time job, and volunteered with lots of different projects (some related to my illness, others not). And I began to realise - life really isn't bad with a stoma!
However, saying that, I've decided at 20 that this isn't what I want forever. Which is why, in 6 weeks, I will be going in for the first of two surgeries to reverse my stoma and make a J-pouch. This operation involves removing the final part of my colon and shaping the end of my small intestine into a 'pouch', which means I won't wear a bag anymore.
This blog will go through my journey with J pouch surgery - the good, bad and ugly! I hope that people waiting for surgery will be able to read the blog and see how things really are, from the perspective of someone who's already had it done.
I look forward to sharing the ins and outs of my story in the months to come!
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